Epps’ buzzer beater sends Men’s Basketball’s win streak to five

Newberry, S.C. —- Catawba College senior guard DeAngelo Epps sank a buzzer-beating jumper as time expired in Catawba's 69-68 win at Newberry Wednesday night, extending their league-high win streak in the South Atlantic Conference to five games.

TEAM STATS

- Catawba was 24-of-60 (40 percent) from the floor; Newberry was 25-for-63 (40 percent)

- The Wolves were 6-for-18 (33 percent) from three-point range, while the Catawba Indians were 8-of-27 (30 percent) from deep

- Catawba went 13-for-18 (72 percent) at the free throw line, while NC was one short of that mark at 12-of-18 (67 percent)

- Newberry out-rebounded the Catawba Indians 43-37, leading to a slim 15-14 advantage in second-chance points

- Catawba recorded 14 assists to 17 turnovers, while the Wolves had 11 assists to 16 turnovers; NC led 20-14 in points off turnovers

- Newberry led in points in the paint (34-30) and bench points (35-31), while the Catawba Indians held a slight 12-8 lead in fastbreak points

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Kris Robinson scored a team-high 15 points with three three-pointers 

- Kaleb Wallace added 12 points off the bench on 5-of-10 shooting

- Peyton Gerald was the third Catawba Indian in double figures with 11 and four rebounds

- Montravis White chipped in nine points off three triples in 22 minutes off the bench

- Epps drained the game-winner for two of his eight points; Justin Banks also scored eight points

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

- Catawba sprinted out to a 10-0 lead after Robinson's three-pointer

- Newberry responded with a 12-3 run to pull within a point

- Back-to-back layups returned the Catawba Indian lead to five under the 12-minute mark

- Wallace's triple pushed the Catawba lead to 22-13 at the 8:24 mark

- A 9-2 run from the Wolves trimmed their deficit to a basket near the 5-minute mark

- White's three-pointer and three made free throws from Robinson helped the Catawba Indians turn a 28-all game at the 2:51 mark to a 39-31 halftime lead

SECOND HALF

- Newberry's Drake Downs dunked for two of his game-high 22 points to trim the deficit to three points at the 18:11 mark

- Wallace answered with back-to-back baskets to return the lead to 45-38 just over a minute later

- Banks' layup pushed the Catawba Indian lead to as much as 55-44 just under the 13-minute mark

- The Wolves answered with seven unanswered to cut Catawba's lead to four points at the 10:25 mark

- Gerald's dunk returned the lead to 61-54 on Gerald's dunk three minutes later

- Downs answered with a dunk of his own to cap a quick 5-0 spurt to get within a single score again

- Downs' jumper tied the game at 66 at the 2:28 mark

- Newberry's Jalen Johnson hit a go-ahead layup at 47 seconds left

- Epps was fouled and hit the front free throw, but missed the second

- The Wolves were fouled with eight seconds left, but missed both free throws

- Jones lost the ball at halfcourt, but Epps picked up the ball and hit the elbow jumper at the buzzer to sink the Wolves and extend their win streak to a league-high five games

UP NEXT

- Catawba remains on the road on Saturday, traveling to Anderson with a date with the Trojans at 4 p.m.